<quoted text>The article states that most of the suicides are over 50 years of age. I believe I read that correctly. If that's the case, wouldn't most of those be Vietnam soldiers? Desert Storm?I had no idea about this. PTSD, I'm sure.Yeah, I got bammed on this one.

no syn, I will try to answer better tomorrow but many were nat. guard types,pressed into duty by the Iraq war.but I will get back to you about this.

<quoted text>http://www.topix.com/forum/city/blairsville-g......All Christians that I know simply want the hostility to end towards any public displays. No one is claiming you have to be a Christian, but this is still a 73-78% Christian nation based on three polls and the US Census. How about a little tolerance for those who think children should still be able to sing Christmas songs in school and have Christmas programs - especially if they are limited to purely secular ones about Santa Claus. And how does it hurt anyone if the local fire station wants to put up a Nativity scene and a Menorah on their property?

The horrors, Christians are so victimized, the open hostility is everywhere you turn, private property and church property aren't enough to display our religious celebrations, why heck, we'll even leave some space for the Jews.

I. May schools display religious symbols during Christmas?

YES. Several federal district courts have ruled that under certain circumstances, it is permissible for a public school to display religious holiday symbols in school calendars and in holiday displays. For example, a district court in New Jersey directly addressed this issue in Clever v. Cherry Hill Twp., 838 F. Supp. 929 (D.N.J. 1993). In Clever, the plaintiffs challenged a school policy that provided for religious symbols to be used in school calendars and in a Christmas display. After noting the importance of context and the absence of denominational preference, the court upheld the policy:

Christmas and Chanukah are celebrated as cultural and national holidays as well as religious ones, and there is simply no constitutional doctrine which would forbid school children from sharing in that celebration, provided that these celebrations do not constitute an unconstitutional endorsement of religion and are consistent with a school’s secular educational mission.

II. Are students allowed to sing Christmas carols with religious themes at school events or in holiday programs?

YES. The Establishment Clause does not prevent the singing of Christmas carols with religious origins by public school choirs. A case that addressed this specific issue upheld the singing of religious Christmas carols in public schools. In Florey v. Sioux Falls School District, 619 F.2d 1311 (8th Cir. 1980), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that the study and performance of religious songs, including Christmas carols, are constitutional if their purpose is the “advancement of the students’ knowledge of society’s cultural and religious heritage, as well as the provision of an opportunity for students to perform a full range of music, poetry and drama that is likely to be of interest to the students and their audience.”

III. Can schools teach about the biblical origins of Christmas and Easter?

YES. In Stone v. Graham, 449 U.S. 39, 42 (1980), the Supreme Court stated that “the Bible may constitutionally be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like.” Therefore, it would be constitutional for a public school teacher to have students study Biblical passages that relate to Christmas (e.g., Matthew 1:18-2:22, Luke 2:1-20) if the purpose was to study the historical or literary significance of the passages. In considering the type of activities that are appropriate in public schools, the federal appeals court in Florey stated,“[w]e view the term ‘study’ to include more than mere classroom instruction; public performance may be a legitimate part of secular study.”

IV. Are students permitted to write about the origin of Christmas and the birth of Jesus or other religious sentiments in school assignments?

YES. A student’s private religious speech is protected by the First Amendment, so long as that speech does not “‘materially or substantially interfere with school discipline.’”

<quoted text>http://www.topix.com/forum/city/blairsville-g...I think it pretty obvious they were not looking at it as a "religion" option, they were just asked if "creationism" should be taught -do not try to infer more than is there to make you feel better about the result. And the decision of one judge is hardly the standard to which the validity of Intelligent Design should or shall be determined.

Yes, please teach us all about the dangers of inferring more than is really there, you have such a history of caution and restraint when jumping to a conclusion.

It's only the decision of one judge, too bad it was a public trial and the testimony is available to any and all, and any schoold district foolish enough to take that path again will need to clear the hurdles set by that trial. Oh wait, what was it that was shown in that trial, nothing more than the fact that ID is simply rebranded Creationism.

This columnist tells it as it really is...Rather than standing before the United Nations praising Islam, Obama should exalt religious freedom. Everyone already knows you love Islam, Mr. Obama, in case you haven't noticed, that IS the problem.

Well, ALMOST everyone, there are SOME who absolutely refuse to believe it.... I rest my case.

This question stems from an interview that Republican Rep. Broun of Georgia gave to The Associated Press Nov. 10. The story carried a headline,“Georgia congressman warns of Obama dictatorship.” It said that Broun “fears that President-elect Obama will establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist or fascist dictatorship.” And it quoted him this way:

Rep. Paul Broun, Nov. 10: It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he’s [Obama's] the one who proposed this national security force.… That’s exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it’s exactly what the Soviet Union did.

Similar claims have been circulating in right-leaning blogs and conservative Web sites ever since July, when Obama made a single reference to a “civilian national security force” in a campaign speech in Colorado. Obama’s detractors make much of his expansive (and exaggerated) description of such a force as being “just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded” as the U.S. military. They also ignore the context....==========FEDS BUYING 100 YEARS WORTH OF AMMOGovernment's argument 'could only fool a career civil servant'Published: 03/11/2013

...Weeks before Palin’s warning, WND CEO Joseph Farah paired the ammo buildup with a statement made by then-candidate Barack Obama in 2008 calling for a “civilian national security force” as big, as strong and as well-funded as the Defense Department.==========Why is the Department of Homeland Security buying so many bullets?Published February 14, 2013Associated Presshttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/14/wh...

...Federal solicitations to buy the bullets are known as "strategic sourcing contracts," which help the government get a low price for a big purchase, says Peggy Dixon, spokeswoman for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Ga . The training center and others like it run by the Homeland Security Department use as many as 15 million rounds every year, mostly on shooting ranges and in training exercises.

Dixon said one of the contracts would allow Homeland Security to buy up to 750 million rounds of ammunition over the next five years for its training facilities. The rounds are used for basic and advanced law enforcement training for federal law enforcement agencies under the department's umbrella. The facilities also offer firearms training to tens of thousands of federal law enforcement officers. More than 90 federal agencies and 70,000 agents and officers used the department's training center last year.

The rest of the 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition would be purchased by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal government's second largest criminal investigative agency.

<quoted text>You are crazy, we have only been feared in some feeble minds that need to feel superior to others. Fact is even spending more money on our military than the next 10 developed nations we still haven't won a war, conflict or a police action since WW2. You should be able to relate to that, your namesake never won a war, just got a whole lot of good southern men killed, reminds me of Bush.You say we govern ourselves but you do nothing but bitch about the results. The results are bought and paid for by the filthy rich and corporations to further their agenda of wealth. Most peoples minds are so malleable a good smear ad whether true on not will elect their people, happens ALL the time.Discrimination, we have laws against discrimination, and speeding and murder. It all happens all the time anyway, now what?

Wrong on all counts. I am glad to see that you agree it was the filthy rich that "elected" this President.

<quoted text>Â“But we also know that the very founders that wrote those documents worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States. Men like John Quincy AdamsÂ… would not rest until slavery was extinguished in the country." - Michele Bachmann

I think she might suffer from Hepatic encephalopathy as well. I recommend you start the campaign to request she step down.

Not only were most or our "founding fathers" rich white men with slaves - but John Quincy Adams wasn't one of them.

Bachman and Palin are the gifts that keep on giving.

So typical of Right Wing Wackos:

- they have no knowledge of history, and so constantly display monumental ignorance;

- they have been employed by guv'ment forever - yet claim to be "experts" on private enterprise;

- and regardless of their lunacy, ignorance, absence of credibility, and completely moronic statements, Right Wing Wackos vote to be ruled by them.

<quoted text>oh,it's Clinton now,huh? have you happened to notice that Iraq/Afgan soldiers are commiting suicide at the rate of one per hour,or does that even matter to you.have you noticed that Iraq is is still in a civil war,despite your man(Bush2) spent billions to fix it.don't look now,you may miss something.

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